Students between Classes IX and XII at a school located in Chakulia block of North Dinajpur have taken up a unique initiative to reach out to their less fortunate batch mates who have been compelled to drop out.

As state-run schools have opened across Bengal from November 16 for students from Classes IX to XII, it has been found that many students have had to stop studying amid the pandemic lockdown owing to financial issues to take up odd jobs and help their families.

“Similar is the situation in Chakulia block. There are 17 secondary and higher secondary schools in this block with students between Classes IX to XII around 13,000. However, after schools reopened, we found hardly 10 per cent students resumed classes,” said a source in the district education department.

This abysmal rate of attendance, particularly in the rural areas, prompted school authorities to bring back to the dropouts to schools.

However, in Ramakrishnapur PDGM High School of Chakulia, students have come up with a new outreach initiative.

Every day, once classes are over, they accompanied by teachers visit homes of every absentee batch mate. Here, students and teachers try to convince the dropout to continue with studies, often entering into a dialogue with other family members.

Vicky Dutta, the headmaster of the school, said that they had all been surprised at the low turnout of students.

“For example, last Tuesday, of the 685 students of Classes IX and X, only 85 students were present in school. Students who came were disappointed not to see their friends. It is then that they planned to reach out to their absentee batch mates. The effort has started yielding results and the turnout has started increasing,” Dutta said.

A girl in Class IX actively participating in this initiative added: “We want all our friends back in school.”

Another student said that they had come to know that many of their friends have migrated to other states for jobs in the course of the 20 months that the schools were closed owing to the pandemic. “We collected their phone numbers and plan to call them, asking them to return and resume their studies.”